Mouse wheel stopped working in Windows 7?

If your mouse wheel stopped working randomly and you can no longer scroll with it, there might be a software problem, although more often it is a hardware problem.

It happened to me today that my mouse wheel stopped working suddenly. Here’s what you can try to fix the mouse wheel:

1. Uninstall your mouse driver:

Enter “device manager” into the search field on the Start menu.

Click on Device Manager

Uncollapse Mice and other pointing devices

Right-click on HID-compliant mouse and select Properties

Go to the tab Drivers and click on Uninstall

Plug out your mouse, wait 5 seconds and plug it in again (plugging out and in immediately is not good for your USB controller)

2. Try another mouse:

Most obviously, the easiest way to find out why the mouse has stopped working and if it is a hardware problem or software is to try another mouse (if uninstalling the mouse driver was unsuccessful).

3. How old is your mouse?

Nothing works forever, your mouse could be broken, especially if it’s an old mouse. If the mouse wheel stopped working after some years, it’s a first sign that you need a new mouse ;)

After checking the purchase date of the mouse, I noticed that I bought my mouse back in October 2003, so the mouse is nearly 7 years old! 7 years is quite a lifetime for a mouse and it only proves that Logitech mice are high-quality mice that work for a pretty darn long time. I own an older mouse and that is still working fine after 9 years!

4. Loose mouse wheel?

Does the wheel scroll differently and could it be a bit more loose than it normally is? If you’re a bit tech-savvy you could try to open your mouse, but only do it if you know what you’re doing and as a last resort before buying a new one.

Written by:Oliver Krautscheid Oliver is the founder and lead editor of this site. He is interested in finding new ways to break Windows, find common errors and help others to fix them. Aside from that, he loves to fully customize systems with Rainmeter and Dreamscene, find out more about ancient civilizations like the Chachapoya, sharpen his digital photography skills and create software with a small group of selected developers. If you would like to connect with him to discuss anything, send him a mail!